International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)
Volume 5 Issue 4, May-June 2021 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470
Healthcare Sensors Issues, Challenges & Security Threats in
Wireless Body Area Network: A Comprehensive Survey
M Ragul Vignesh1, S Sivakumar2
1Assistant
Professor, 2Associate Professor,
of Computer Engineering,
Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Engineering, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
1,2Department
How to cite this paper: M Ragul Vignesh |
S Sivakumar "Healthcare Sensors Issues,
Challenges & Security Threats in Wireless
Body Area Network: A Comprehensive
Survey" Published in
International Journal
of Trend in Scientific
Research
and
Development (ijtsrd),
ISSN:
2456-6470,
Volume-5 | Issue-4,
IJTSRD42454
June 2021, pp.989997,
URL:
www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd42454.pdf
ABSTRACT
In recent events of the pandemic situation there is a heavy surge in the
demand for health care applications for monitoring the vitals of the patients
through real - time monitoring of the human body. The major concerns which
we face in Wireless Body Area Network [WBAN] sensors are security, data
privacy, data integrity, confidentiality and dependability. Moreover it has
issues such as standardization, energy efficiency, and quality of service. We are
more concerned about the security of the data. The main purpose of WBAN
sensors is to monitor the patients continuously without any assistance. The
sensors are meant to be worn by the patients and the data has to be sent to the
Healthcare applications which hold the backend system through a secured
network. In this paper we are discussing the various security mechanisms and
routing challenges which we are facing and the attacks which could occur over
the network and also the summary of certain mechanisms which are present
to overcome them. We have analysed the security for the different attack
scenarios. This survey is to summarize the major difficulties which we face
while designing a network in WBANs which is an emerging field of science in
this pandemic situation.
Copyright © 2021 by author (s) and
International Journal of Trend in Scientific
Research and Development Journal. This
is an Open Access article distributed
under the terms of
the
Creative
Commons Attribution
License
(CC
BY
4.0)
KEYWORDS: Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs), Security threats, Security
Mechanisms, Attacks based on layers, Security, Quality of service, Health care
sensors, Privacy
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
1. INTRODUCTION:
The popularity of wearable healthcare devices paired with
mobile applications to monitor a person's health has widely
become popular in recent days. Considering the recent event
of pandemic, we are much more into health and health care
self-monitoring applications. The WBANs initially had a
scope in hospitals and medical centers where the data of
patients are constantly monitored and updated to its nearby
monitoring centers where the data are received, processed
and maintained. A WBAN majorly consists of sensors
attached to the patient, monitoring devices which act as a
central data center and a sensor aggregation node. [1]
room and even leave the hospital for a while. This improves
the quality of life for the patient and reduces hospital costs.
In addition, data collected over a longer period and in the
natural environment of the patient, offers more useful
information, allowing for a more accurate and sometimes
even faster diagnosis.[4]
The WBAN connects sensor nodes which are implanted in
the clothes, on the body or under the skin of a person. The
sensors are widely placed all over the whole human body
and the nodes are connected through a wireless
communication channel.[1]
A WBAN offers many promising new applications in the area
of remote health monitoring, home/health care, medicine,
multimedia, sports and many others, all of which make use of
the unconstrained freedom of movement a WBAN offers. In
the medical field, for example, a patient can be equipped
with a wireless body area network consisting of sensors that
constantly measure specific biological functions, such as
temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram
(ECG), respiration, etc. The advantage is that the patient
doesn’t have to stay in bed, but can move freely across the
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
Apart from the major benefits of WBAN health monitoring
systems including cost effective and attractive, it provides us
with continuous monitoring of vital signal of the patients,
which are more essential for elderly people.[2][3]
Security plays a vital role in monitoring centre (MC)
networks for medical data processing and health care
monitoring systems. WBAN is used for Health care
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 989
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
applications, and also requires proper security mechanisms
in order to protect the individual’s data and WBAN devices
from malicious attackers.[1] The advert of exposing the
health issue to the surrounding people will kill a patient
faster than the issue itself.
The discussion in this paper covers the various security
mechanisms and routing challenges which we are facing and
the attacks which could occur over the network and also the
summary of certain mechanisms which are present to
overcome them. Chapter 2 covers the various security
service schemes and security mechanisms for the data and
the communication medium. Moving forward with Chapter 3
& 4, the various challenges faced by the sensors itself are
reviewed and in Chapter 5 the various attacks which could
be performed over it in different network layers is discussed
following by the summary and conclusion.
2. Design aspect to be considered in WBAN
2.1. WBAN Security Services
Whenever we talk about data the term security and privacy
plays a very important role. Data security over here means
the data which is monitored is securely stored and
transferred. Data privacy means the data can be accessed
only by the authorized people. Here we discuss the major
security concerns such as data security, communication
security and data storage.
2.1.1. Confidentiality of data
Confidentiality is the process of protecting medical
information so that there is no unauthorized access by
malicious users. It prevents data disclosure in the sensor
environment when data is transferred among the sensor
nodes to the base station and vice versa. It is said that it
prevents eavesdropping. On the other hand the major
problem for confidentiality is if an authorized node is
compromised by the attackers then they can access the
highly potential data such as cryptographic keys. With the
help of the key the attacker can decrypt the message and
access the protected data. [5] Usually the part of the message
which contains data is encrypted, the process of encrypting
the packet header is used to protect the identity of the node.
2.1.2. Data Access Control
The unauthorized access of the patient’s data is prevented by
Data access control. It helps in improving privacy policy of
the data. The users who could access the data of the patients
involve doctors, nurses, pharmacies, insurance companies
and other supportive staff and agencies. If an agency gets all
the access to the patient's medical report they could exploit
them to reduce the premium involved in the policy [6]. So to
avoid these things there has to be a strict policy to ensure
that different users have different access to the data.
An example of role based access control for health care
applications is given in [7]. In WBANs, along with the role
based access controls applied to beyond-BAN layer‘s
applications, a comprehensive set of control rules is needed
at intra-BAN layer. Authors in [8] discuss some rules on a
patient's privacy at home (intra-BAN layer). For instance,
who can decide which sensors should collect the data, or
whether patients can completely control how much of the
data is sent to the central monitoring station, or they only
have a partial control? In this case, guidelines need to be
defined explicitly[1]. There by giving the total control access
to the patient which data to be sent and which should be
hidden.
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
2.1.3. Accountability
The secure data access control in WBANs can be controlled
by accountability. When a user without the proper privilege
tries to access the unauthorized data of the patients, then the
patient should be notified with the act of the user and the
user has to be held accountable. Authors in [9] discuss this
problem and then propose a technique to defend against it.
When an illegal key sharing is happening amongst valid yet
unauthorized users.
2.1.4. Integrity
This prevents data from being tampered with throughout the
network's data transfer procedure among the WBAN
sensors. Lack of integrity is a severe concern since the usage
of faulty or incorrect information can have terrible
repercussions. Some sensor network applications, such as
healthcare or environmental monitoring, rely largely on the
integrity issue, and hence the safeguarding of data carried
through the network.[5]
2.1.5. Authentication
This technique is used to verify the participants' identities
and is primarily used to distinguish between fraudulent
users and legal traffic. Every base station and sensor node in
a wireless sensor network must be able to determine if the
received packet was delivered by an attacker node or a
legitimate node. This is due to the fact that an attacker can
deceive legitimate nodes into accepting fraudulent data
packets. If fake data is fed into the sensor network,
unexpected results may occur. The message's MAC can be
used to authenticate the source of such misleading
information.
2.1.6. Availability
It allows information and services to be accessed at any
moment if necessary. Multiple services may become
unavailable as a result of denial of service assaults or node
compromise, which could have fatal effects for some realtime applications [5]. The WSN protocols used must be
strong enough to handle any outages by providing
alternative, more secure routes.
2.1.7. Dependability
In the event of individual node failures, sensor intrusions, or
malicious alterations, patient-related data must be easily
retrievable. Because failure to obtain proper data might
result in life-threatening situations, dependability is one of
the most important concerns in WBANs. Error-correcting
coding approaches can be used to resolve dependability
issues [11]. Although WBAN dependability is critical, it has
gotten little attention thus far.
2.2. Security Mechanisms
2.2.1. Authentication
A mechanism is necessary to determine whether the
received data is coming from valid nodes between WBAN
devices in order to identify legitimate nodes. There is also a
mechanism at the application level to identify the user in
order to access the smartphone using various ways such as
user ID and password, fingerprint or retina scanning, voice
recognition, and so on. Before transmitting data, security
methods might provide the authentication procedure.
Certificates,
digital
IDs,
biometrics,
two-factor
authentication, and proximity authentication are only some
of the technologies employed. [10]
If a patient misplaces their device, they must be able to
reconnect with their sensor devices in a secure manner.
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 990
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
When bringing in a new sensor or processing device, the
ability to authenticate the user and securely integrate into
the existing network must also be considered. Certificates,
for example, can be downloaded from the Certificate
Authority (CA) onto the PT, which will also require a
password from the application programme to be matched
with the replacement unit. The password should never be
saved on the smartphone, but rather encrypted and used by
the device to verify and authenticate the user using a hash
function such as Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA2).[1]
2.2.2. Authorization
Authentication is the process of identifying genuine nodes or
users within WBAN, whereas authorization is the process of
allowing users such as patients or carers to access the MC
database and complete required information. Physicians, for
example, may have different levels of access to health data
than consumers and health-care providers. Within WBAN,
sensors may have varying levels of permission to gather data
and send it to certain destinations. Cluster sensors, for
example, may have a different authorisation level than the
other sensors.
2.2.3. Key Management Protocol
The author in [12] generates the key using hybrid
techniques. This involves creating keys using physiological
values (PVs) of the human body, which are used for the
sensor nodes to calculate keys, rather than the traditional
key management methodology of pre-loading created keys.
To meet the needs of varied security requirements, key
management systems have expanded into several sub-areas.
A CA is used to handle public keys in a public key
infrastructure (PKI). Asymmetric key methods like DiffieHellman and RSA, which demand a lot of resources and
electricity, are used in many PKIs [13].
Due to the limited resources available in WSNs, high energy
consumption is not desirable, and numerous recommended
techniques for implementing PKI with this concern in mind
have been offered. While there are many proprietary key
management systems available, such as Tiny PK, PKI, and LPKI, L-PKI is suitable for WSN/WBAN because it provides all
of the authentication, confidentiality, non-repudiation, and
scalability that are required for resource-constrained
platforms like WSN and WBAN, whereas other PKIs only
provide a subset of these services.[11]
L-PKI is based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) to
reduce computational costs and consists of several
components, including a Registration Authority (RA), a
Certificate Authority (CA), digital certificates, a Certificate
Repository, a Validation Authority (VA), a Key Generating
Server (KGS), end entities (smartphones), and a Timestamp
Server. Compared to RSA, which is not appropriate for
resource-constrained networks like WSN, L-PKI with an ECCbased system requires substantially smaller keys, which
increases efficiency. For example, 160 bit keys in an ECC
based system has the same level of security as those of a
1024 bit keys in an RSA based system [14].
Scalability and power efficiency are the decisive criteria in
what level of security mechanisms to apply in WSN and
WBAN, therefore scalability and power efficiency are the
emphasis of key management systems. Because both
networks have distinct hardware abilities, low weight data
secrecy and authentication algorithms may be implemented
differently in WSN and WBAN [13]. While the number of
keys created in WSN is restricted due to power and
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
computational constraints, a full-scale security mechanism
can be implemented in smartphones to store and send health
data and patient information to MC. A user login and
password, as well as other information such as user random
salt, fixed salt, and iteration count, are required to generate a
master key, which will be used to encrypt health data,
patient information, and account information before sending
it to MC via a secured channel such as SSL/TLS and IPSec.
2.2.4. Route Discovery Protocol
In a small sensor network, data exchange can be done
directly between nodes without the use of a routing protocol,
but in a more complex network, routing is required to
ensure path redundancy and efficient communication.
Within the WSN, route discovery protocols are utilised to
communicate with a PT (base station), and intelligent
routing is necessary to determine the quickest or better path
within the WSN, including cluster header. The Secure and
Energy Efficient Multipath (SEEM) Routing Protocol does not
take the shortest path to the data source, but rather finds
numerous ways and chooses one to utilise [15]. SEEM, on the
other hand, lacks cryptographic techniques and solely
provides balanced security services. INSENS (IntrusionTolerant Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks) is
a multipath routing protocol that uses less processing power
and resources. Secure route discovery, secure data transfer,
and route management are all steps used by SECMRP. It is a
proposed route discovery technique that employs L-PKI and
is developed for WSNs. It can provide authentication,
confidentiality, integrity, balancing, and scalability security
services, whereas SEEM can only provide balancing and
INSENS cannot give scalability.
3. Constraint & Challenges
3.1. Low Power Budget
In terms of power budget, all sensors are constrained, but
body sensors are more limited in this regard. Because body
sensors rely on energy to conduct all of their tasks, such as
sensing, computing, and communication, energy is a valuable
resource [1].
Replacing this critical resource is impossible or impractical
in many cases, especially for in-body sensors, which are
embedded within the human body. As a result, one of the
most important considerations in developing WBAN systems
and protocols is energy limiting.
3.2. Limited Memory
The memory capacity of body sensors is only a few kilobytes.
The small size of body sensors is the reason for this
constraint. However, while the installation of security
mechanisms may not necessitate a large amount of memory,
keying material is stored in the sensor's memory and
consumes the majority of it.
3.3. Computational Capability
Low processing abilities in body sensors is caused by a
combination of a low power budget and a lack of memory.
Because the primary function of body sensors is conveyance
of observed data, there is a limited amount of energy that
can be spent on calculation operations [16]. Furthermore,
due to memory limitations in body sensors, they are unable
to do complex computations.
3.4. Low Communication Rate
In WBANs, communication is the most energy-intensive
function. It is critical to reduce the amount of communication
in these networks in order to save energy. As a result, rather
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 991
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
than transforming actual data, developers have attempted to
minimise the overhead transmissions required by other
purposes.
message routing in mobile nodes is more difficult than in
fixed nodes. For data to be sent securely to mobile nodes,
routing methods must account for route stability [5].
3.5. Security & Safety
Since the users of WBAN devices are typically non-experts,
the devices should be simple and straightforward to operate.
Furthermore, WBAN devices are designed to function
similarly to plug-and-play devices. Because the data security
systems' setup and control are patient-related, they should
only require a few simple human interactions [11]. However,
in the case of WBANs, security takes precedence above
usability, so skipping some manual processes to improve
usability is not recommended.
4.6. Physical Resources
The restricted battery supply is the primary cause for WSNs'
limited uses. As a result, energy waste is a major design
concern in protocol development. The sensor nodes also
have limited processing and memory capabilities.
3.6. Lack of Standardization
Sensors from various manufacturers could be used in each
WBAN. As a result, pre-sharing any cryptographic materials
is problematic. It is difficult to design security methods that
require the least common settings in such networks that
interact with a wide range of devices.
4. Routing Challenges
4.1. Node Distribution
SNs in WSNs are deployed based on their applications [17].
Deterministic and non-deterministic deployment procedures
are the two types of deployment tactics. In the case of a
deterministic deployment technique, sensor nodes are
manually deployed and data is transmitted via preprogrammed channels. Sensor nodes, on the other hand, are
dispersed at random in a non-deterministic deployment
methodology with no pre-calculated pathways. When there
is a non-uniform distribution of nodes, the routing protocol
must be able to execute optimal clustering to improve the
wireless network's energy efficiency while also addressing
the connection issue.
4.2. Data Reporting Model
In WSNs, data reporting and data sensing are based on
applications [18]. In WSNs, data reporting and data sensing
are based on applications [18]. Data reporting models can be
divided into three categories: query-driven, event-driven,
and time-driven. In time-driven models, data monitoring and
transmission are done on a regular basis after a set time
interval. Data is only reported in query or event driven
models when the base station generates an event or query.
These models have an impact on routing protocol
performance in terms of route stability and energy usage.
4.3. Defect Resistance
Nodes in WSNs may die out due to environmental
interferences, physical damage, or a lack of power supply.
The overall operation of the wireless sensor networks must
not be harmed by such nodes that have died or failed [19].
Routing protocols must be able to generate alternative
routes headed for the base station in the event of node
failure or other interruptions [20].
4.4. Extensibility & Connectivity
Multiple SNs spread over the sensing region require a
routing solution that can handle them. The routing protocols
must be flexible enough to encompass the complete range of
nodes as the number of nodes grows. Routing protocols must
be aware of such topological changes and capable of dealing
with them.
4.5. Network Dynamics
In wireless sensor networks, sensor nodes can be either
mobile or stationary. Because of route stability difficulties,
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
5. WBAN Attacks
WBANs requirements are vulnerable to various types of
attacks. Based on the security in WBANs, these attacks can
be categorized as
5.1. Physical Layer Attacks
5.1.1. Eave’s Drop
Eavesdropping is a precondition for other attacks, an
eavesdropping assault is a severe security concern to a
wireless sensor network (WSN). Traditional WSNs are made
up of wireless nodes with omnidirectional antennas that
broadcast radio signals in all directions, making them
vulnerable to eavesdropping.
5.1.2. Jamming Attacks
Interference with the radio frequencies of the body sensors
is referred to as jamming. The adversary tries to block or
interfere with signal reception at the network's nodes in this
attack. The attacker does it by sending a continuous random
signal on the same frequency as the body sensors. Nodes that
are affected will be unable to receive messages from other
nodes. In this attack, the adversary can utilise a few nodes to
send out radio signals, disrupting the functionality of the
transceivers and blocking the entire network. Larger
networks, on the other hand, are more difficult to completely
block. SNR is a critical factor in successful jamming assaults
[21].
5.1.3. Tampering Attacks
An attacker physically tampers with sensors in tampering
assaults. An attacker may damage a sensor, replace the
entire node or a portion of its hardware, or even electrically
interrogate a node in order to obtain patient data or shared
cryptographic keys. Sensor devices, in general, have few
exterior security protections and are thus vulnerable to
physical tampering. The deployed sensors in a WBAN are
under the observation of the person carrying these devices,
making it impossible for an attacker to physically access the
nodes without being discovered. However, there is still the
possibility of tampering in WBANs. Patient awareness is an
effective deterrent to manipulation. Only approved persons
should be permitted to physically handle the gadgets, which
might be very beneficial to patients [22].
5.2. Datalink Layer Attacks
5.2.1. Exhaustion Attack
Exhaustion of battery resources may occur when a selfsacrificing node always keeps the channel busy. In WSN, rate
limitation is used to thwart this attack.
5.2.2. Collision Attack
The jamming technique we just described is known as a
collision attack. When the attacker hears the beginning of a
communication, he or she listens to the channel and sends
out a signal that interferes with the communication. This can
result in frame header corruption, checksum mismatches,
and, as a result, receiver rejection of sent packets. Because
the sole proof of a collision attack is the receipt of wrong
messages, this attack is difficult to detect. A frame is dropped
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 992
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
if the Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) check fails. Error
correcting methods are one of the solutions that can be used
to protect WBANs from this assault. Collision attacks in
WBANs have a high probability of success, similar to
jamming attacks.
5.3. Network Layer Attacks
5.3.1. Selective Forwarding
When an attacker adds a compromised node in a routing
path, this is known as selective forwarding. When a
malicious node receives a packet, it does nothing but ignore
it and drops it. The rogue node has the ability to discard
packets selectively (just for a specific destination) or totally
(all packets). Because the PS is usually in the direct
communication range of body sensors in intra-BAN
communications, selective forwarding attacks are not
applicable to the first communications level (intra-BAN
level) of WBAN's architecture. As a result, body sensors can
communicate with the PS directory without having to route
packets. Body sensors with a short range of communication
choose a nearby node to transfer their data to the PS [23].
When numerous APs are placed to assist the body sensors in
transmitting information, routing is possible in WBANs at
the second level of communications (inter-BAN level). This
type of link increases a WBAN's service area and facilitates
patient mobility.
5.3.2. Sinkhole Attack
Sinkhole attacks are similar to selective forwarding but are
not passive. The compromised or bogus node is used to
generate traffic in this attack. In order to prevent packet
forwarding, this node drops packets. This attack is similar to
the selective forwarding attack in that it can be used in
WBANs.
5.3.3 Wormhole Attack
Wormhole attacks use two malicious nodes located far apart
to create a wormhole in the target sensor network. There is
an out-of-band communication route for both malicious
nodes. The sensor nodes are near one malicious node,
whereas the base station is near the other. The malicious
node near the sensor nodes deceives sensors into believing
that it has the shortest path to the sink node via the other
malicious node near the sink node. In the target sensor
network, this leads to sinkholes and routing confusion.
Wormhole attacks, like selective forwarding and sinkhole
attacks, can be used in WBANs.
5.3.3. Hello Flood Attack
To introduce themselves to their neighbours, several
protocols require nodes to broadcast hello packets. When a
node receives such greeting packets, it may believe the
sender is one of its neighbours. This assumption may be
incorrect in the event of hello flood attacks. An attacker with
a powerful antenna can fool sensors into thinking it's in their
neighbour’s house. Furthermore, the attacker has the ability
to claim a high-quality route and establish a wormhole.
Although wormhole construction has no effect on WBAN
intra-BAN communications, a Hello Flood attack in intraBAN communications causes body sensors to respond to
hello packets, wasting their energy.
5.3.4. Spoofing Attack
The spoofing attack targets the routing information
transferred between nodes, attempting to spoof, alter, or
replay the data in order to complicate the network [24]. An
attacker could, for example, cause network disruption by
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
constructing routing loops, generating phoney error
messages, and drawing or repelling network traffic from
certain nodes. Spoofing attacks, like selective forwarding,
sinkhole, and wormhole attacks, can be used in WBANs.
5.4. Transport Layer Attack
5.4.1. DE synchronization Attack
The transport protocols that rely on sequence numbers are
targeted by the de-synchronization attack. The attacker
alters some messages to include incorrect sequence
numbers, resulting in endless retransmissions that waste
both energy and bandwidth. WBANs are quite vulnerable to
this type of attack. Because body sensors have a limited
power budget, retransmissions may quickly deplete the
sensor's power and render it unavailable to the network.
This attack can be thwarted with authentication.
5.4.2. Flooding Attack
By sending a large number of connection establishment
requests, a flooding attack is utilised to drain memory
resources. Because body sensors have limited memory
space, they are susceptible to flooding attacks.
6. Literature Review
6.1. AES symmetric key based scheme
A WBAN protocol [24] that is both energy efficient and
secure focuses on wearable devices, also known as sensor
devices that are implanted into the bodies of patients to
monitor their current health status. Through gateway
devices, the human body is connected to the internet.
Medical specialists use this information to treat disorders
such as asthma, diabetes, heart attacks, and high blood
pressure in patients. To send the secure BAN, an energy
efficient and secure protocol for WBAN is employed, which
uses advanced encryption security (AES) based encryption
and the SHA-1 hash function. For WBAN, SHA-I is
complicated, but a hash chain-based protocol that uses the
chaos baker map for security reduces the complexity.
Memory space, computation control, and bandwidth are all
well-organized in sensor devices. To randomise the data, the
authors' protocol uses a chaos baker map, and this technique
is also utilised to generate pseudorandom key streams.
Implementation of a Lightweight End-to-End Secured
Communication System for PMS [26] focuses on a secure
end-to-end transportation system for patient monitoring. A
wireless link connects the sensor device in the body to the
gateway, which sends the patient's medical information.
This paper also looked at data encryption to prevent data
theft and data verification to ensure that only authorised
individuals have access to data. End-to-end secure PMS
concentrating on the security of sensor to gateway wireless
connection with encryption protocol, as well as using
(MQTT) telemetry transport protocol rather than hypertext
transport protocol. AES is used to encrypt data, which is then
stored on a server where a legitimate user can retrieve the
data for decryption and further activities. The advancement
of the internet of things (IoT) brings smart technologies,
which have a wide range of applications in healthcare
[27].Therefore; these systems are vulnerable to security and
privacy. Low power and resource usage are implemented in
the secure framework. It uses the AES-CTR mode to set the
counter value, which is a variable called the initial vector
(IV) value that is incremented by a pseudorandom sequence.
The size of the counter value is determined by the
encryption algorithm employed, such as AES-128 bits, which
employs a basic XOR operation similar to CTR mode. WBAN
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 993
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
needs lightweight and efficient resources to transmit data
over the network [28].
Many strategies for security have been presented, and this
study study examines group-based cooperation on
symmetric key production via physical or link layer received
signal strength indicator (RSSI) data collecting. This article
[28] proposed cooperative group solution to enhance the
variation and size of RSSI data for efficiently key generation.
The main advancement is the use of numerous channels
between a member hub and a group, or sometimes between
two groups, to randomly synthesise RSSI information with
better information similarity and fluctuation and multioverlap information thickness. Similarly, a few bunch models
are depicted with protocol design specifics. WBAN is linked
to WSN[29]. WBAN is made up of tiny sensors that collect
data from the human body and communicate it through a
network to biomedical servers. The system's primary goal is
to protect the security and confidentiality of data
transmitted over a network. To ensure data security and
guard against different threats, various security techniques
have been devised.
To secure data, this article explores cryptography and key
management strategies. The data is kept secure by using
strong cryptography and complex calculations. When using
encryption techniques for security, execution time and
memory consumption should be taken into account. A secure
application is designed around the key management
protocol. These protocols are used to create and distribute
cryptographic keys to network nodes. Confined in server,
key pre-distribution, and self-authorizing are the three main
types of key management protocols. The trusted server
protocol relies on a trusted base station to create the key
agreement in the system network. It is viewed as that trusted
server protocol are appropriate to networks in the
environment of various resources.
WBAN is a new technology that focuses on the medical
examination system [30]. It is critical to encrypt and decrypt
healthcare data, as well as to produce secret keys on both the
source and destination sides. The author suggested a very
useful secret key generation methodology that can generate
128 symmetric secret keys to secure communication. The
WBAN link must be secured because it consists of many
micro sensors that measure the crucial information of
patients. It is critical to use cryptographic algorithms in
wireless network protocols to ensure secure communication.
As a result, complicated algorithms are used to encrypt
sensitive information. The suggested High Rate Key
Management Technique for WBAN is based on RSS
measurements from node A to node B. The RSS
measurements of node A and node B are estimated through
communication between the two nodes [30]. It can produce
128 symmetric secret keys to keep communication secure. In
both static and mobility scenarios, the results reveal that it
generates symmetric secret keys with higher effects [31].
Before signal distortion is transferred to the successful
quantization process, a filtering procedure is used to reduce
bit mismatch.
6.2. Hashing algorithm based algorithm scheme
Secure hashing algorithms (SHA) and encryption techniques
are used in research reviews to make data transfer more
secure and powerful [31]. It generates digital signatures
using a hash technique to convey patient data in a more
secure and authentic manner. This proposed technique
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
makes use of an asymmetric key generation strategy, which
uses a pair of public and private keys, making the processes
slower and more complex. Securing Data Communication in
WBAN with Digital Signatures [31], the suggested strategy is
based on a combination of multiple ways for securing data in
WBAN by combining secure keys and digital signatures.
Because of the arbitrary keys exchanged with the BNC and
the entire sensor node on the network for encryption and
decryption, this technique is extremely safe. BNC digitally
signs every data packet with SK and sends it to all sensor
nodes in the network. It is sent to the medical server after
being validated by the BNC. D-sign encrypts data into fixedsize bits known as hash values using the SHA-1 hash
function. Digital signatures are created using hash values
and the sender's keys, and the hash values are decrypted
using the sender's keys. If the new hash values are the same
as the old hash values, the data packet has not been changed.
In [32], The Chaos Baker map focuses on a simple hashing
work convention in conjunction with the Chaos Baker
delineation, which provides highly secure information
disclosure and dissemination. In terms of memory space,
calculation control, data transfer, and power, the body
sensor hubs are source controlled. It employs the hash
function protocol, which uses 128-bit text and key sizes. Due
to the controlled sources, computationally expensive and
control-intensive processes are ineffective for such hubs.
The pseudorandom key streams are generated using the
Chaos Baker delineate. Every sensor hub receives the data
and verifies it by decoding the figure content using the hash
bind as an incentive. Chaotic sequences are pseudorandom,
and finite is the most important matrix scheme. Chaotic
systems use matrices to construct sequences. Patients' data
can be encrypted or decrypted using sequences as secret
keys. Chaotic compressive sensing is deployed in the body to
body network.
6.3. Elliptic curve cryptography based scheme
As the population ages, it becomes increasingly difficult to
meet the health needs of elderly and patients with available
resources. Nano sensors are now available thanks to
technological advancements, and they can be used
anywhere, just like they may be placed on a human's body to
collect health data, therefore data security is critical [34]. To
secure the data in this paper, ECC and Diffie Hallman (DH)
were utilised. There is a great need to secure vital patient
health data, and several strategies are employed to do so. As
a result, the asymmetric algorithm ECC was used in this
study. To ensure data security, DH is used to generate keys in
the system. Because there are two types of users, patients
and doctors, this article also focuses on user authentication.
To sign up for the system, users must store personal
information such as thumb or palm prints in the database.
The ECC and DH algorithms are then used to encrypt the
biological data. It is initially translated to binary before being
assessed using different key sizes such as 128, 192, and 256
bits. Encryption decryption time and key generation time are
among the grading criteria.
WBAN is a wireless sensor network that uses small sensors
to collect health data from people and send it to the medical
community [33]. To ensure security, this data must be
encrypted before being sent to the medical server. As a
result, for data security in this publication, the hybrid
encryption algorithm (HEA) was used. Users must register
for a registration number and node ID before using HEA to
encrypt and decrypt data. These numbers serve as a key and
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 994
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
are kept private. The sender and receiver then exchange
these keys using the Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman algorithm.
To safeguard the data, this study uses a hybrid approach of
ECC 128 bit and AES 128 bit encryption. WBAN architecture
consist of the intra WBAN and inter WBAN [36]. Intra WBAN
uses a personal server (PS) as a gateway to transport signals
to the next station, but inter WBAN links to the main
network through the internet to receive patients' important
health data. Beyond WBAN, there is another critical step of
WBAN where the medical environment's database or
biomedical server is located. Because WBAN contains very
sensitive information, security and privacy are top priorities.
To protect the data of the patients, various data security
solutions have been offered.
To secure the data, it uses ECC with a very powerful key
management mechanism. It takes the points on the curve
that will be utilised in cryptography calculations and extracts
them. These points are one-of-a-kind to ensure that the
values are more random. To accomplish data reliability and
security, this technique included registration, verification,
and key exchange mechanisms. Technology is rapidly
changing. WBAN is a networked healthcare system that
sends data. Data transmission with security is a difficult task.
For data security, this article uses a three-party
authentication mechanism using an ECC technique.
The WBAN was also based on star topology in the research
paper. In asymmetric cryptography, two types of keys are
used: a public key and a private key, both of which are
mathematically connected. There are two purposes in
cryptography for achieving security for patient data
authentication and encryption. To encrypt and decrypt
sensitive data, public and private keys are utilised.
6.4. TEOSCC and ECDH-IBT
Various advances in therapeutic inventive work have
provided social insurance providers with a new set of tools
to improve medical services [27]. As a result, remote
checking therapeutic frameworks such as WBAN will
become a part of portable human services equipped with
continuous checking in the future. In this type of
environment, security is a crucial concern, hence a
recommended solution based on clustering and encryption is
provided. WBAN nodes are grouped into numerous groups
in the clustering system, and these groups are in charge of
data transmission. As a cluster head, one of the selected
groups of nodes contains the cluster node, and the remaining
nodes communicate around it. The cluster head is connected
to every node in the group and maintains information as well
as gathering and sending data from the cluster nodes.
Encrypting sensor data using the ECDH Based Iterative Block
Transformation (ECDH-IBT) algorithm is the second strategy
used in this article [42].
6.5. BAN-trust detection
WBAN is an important technology for the healthcare sector
[37]. As a result, this profession places a premium on data
security and reliability. Although several encryption and
decryption mechanisms have been offered for data security,
there is still a risk of being subject to a malicious node
assault. The malicious node assault in WBAN was detected
and dealt with using the BAN trust scheme. BAN trusts
consist of two parts one is the data analysis and the second is
the trust management. It is difficult for WBAN's nodes to
communicate directly, but it is critical to transmit data. To
determine whether a node is trustworthy to interact with or
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
not, check to see if it has ever interacted with another node.
If it has, the recommendations it receives from others are
critical in determining the trustworthiness of that unknown
node.
6.6. Channel characteristic
WBAN is a biomedical field that transmits critical health
information to patients [39]. Tempering attacks, malevolent
node attacks, and inserting bogus data attacks may all be
possible as a result of the high accessibility of resources. As a
result, data security is a major concern in this setting. Other
strategies for data security improvements have been
presented, however this study used a channel characteristic
aware privacy protection system. Encryption methods
should be used in this paper [39].To begin, the keys used by
two nodes must have the identical sequence, the second key
must have a maximum size of 128 to 512 bits, and the third
key should encrypt data using statistical randomness. The
wireless channel is used to confirm the authentic node-based
correlation using the node authentication technique.
6.7. Kerberos protocol
The notion of WBAN for a smart healthcare system was
sparked by rapid technological progress [38]. As a result,
maintaining good security for sensitive data remains a major
concern. To secure the data, multiple data security solutions
are offered. This article presents the software defined
networking (SDN) layout for data transfer and uses the
Kerberos networking authentication protocol. This paper
[42] explains a flow chart for emergency data delivery, in
which the user sends an encapsulated data packet that is
inspected by the Kerberos protocol, which grants access to
the legitimate user for data retrieval. The SDN controller will
analyse the data format and offer a specific data delivery
route for data transmission across the SDN.
6.8. Block chain
WBAN [40] is a form of technology that continuously
monitors and records human health signs. WBAN poses
much security and privacy concerns because it stores and
develops critical information about patients' health. Block
chain technology and digital signatures are used to deal with
unwanted access and data manipulation. By employing a
chain of hash values to determine the proper values for
encryption, block chain protects data from being tampered
with. Digital signatures, on the other hand, are employed as a
validator, ensuring that data is available to administrators.
Users' non-repudiation attacks are likewise mitigated by
digital signatures. With the help of aggregation of all the
persons' signatures, the DVSSA signature methodology
employed in this article makes the size of the signatures on
the block chain equivalent to the size of a single-person
signature, considerably reducing storage consumption.
Users' data is signed using the DVSSA signature mechanism
before being transmitted for block chain-based calculations.
7. CONCLUSIONS
As a summary, WBAN gathers a patient's vital signs and
sends them to any device that is connected to back-end
servers and databases that can store the patient's records
and make pertinent diagnostic recommendations. In this
paper, the health care of patients are taken into
consideration and revolves around it, WBANs can also be
implemented in the field of elderly care, infant care and
monitoring the vitals of eminent sports persons monitoring
their vitals and providing proper care. Moreover, in the
recent pandemic, we see a lot of people rely on wearable
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 995
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
medical devices to monitor their personal health. The datas
inside the wearable devices could be collected, processed
and stored for a long term purpose for health benefit. This
paper covers the challenges faced by the sensors, routing
challenges faced when they try to communicate and security
issues. Security plays an important role when it comes to the
medical domain. the paper discusses various security threats
which could happen on the WBAN and presents a review on
the mechanisms which are available to overcome these. As
per analysis, to fulfil WBAN's key security needs and thread
efficiency, a custom implementation of network coding can
be used. WBAN is rapidly expanding, however there is
currently no robust and comprehensive security architecture
in place for these networks. WBAN data security and privacy
research is still in its infancy, and more research and studies
are needed in this area.
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to express our extreme gratitude to the almighty for
giving the strength and courage to complete this research
work. Thank you.
REFERENCES
[1] Kang J., Adibi S. (2015) A Review of Security Protocols
in mHealth Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN). In:
Doss R., Piramuthu S., ZHOU W. (eds) Future Network
Systems and Security. FNSS 2015. Communications in
Computer and Information Science, vol 523. Springer.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Bhushan, B., Sahoo, G. Recent Advances in Attacks,
Technical Challenges, Vulnerabilities and Their
Countermeasures in Wireless Sensor Networks.
Wireless Pers Commun 98, 2037–2077 (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-017-4962-0
Li, M., et al.: Data security and privacy in wireless
body area networks. Wireless Commun. 17, 51–58
(2010)
Evered, M., Bogeholz, S.: A case study in access control
requirements for a Health Information System. In:
The Second Workshop on Australasian Information
Security, Data Mining and Web Intelligence, and
Software Internationalisation (2004).
[5]
Meingast, M., Roosta, T., Sastry, S.: Security and
Privacy Issues with Health Care Information
Technology. In: The Proceedings of the 28th IEEE
EMBS Annual International Conference (2006).
[6]
Info Guide to HIPAA Compliance, Implementation and
Privacy, http://www.hipaa-101.com (July 31, 2012)
[7]
Krohn, R., Metcalf, D.: mHealth Innovation: Best
Practices from The Mobile Frontier, p. 204. HIMSS,
Chicago (2014)
[8]
Li, M., et al.: Data security and privacy in wireless
body area networks. Wireless Commun. 17, 51–58
(2010)
[9]
Irum, S., Ali, A., Khan, F.A., Abbas, H.: A hybrid security
mechanism for intra-WBAN and inter-WBAN
communications. Int. J. Distrib. Sens. Netw. 2013, 1–
11 (2013)
[10]
Zheng, J., Jamalipour, A.: Wireless Sensor Networks: A
Networking Perspective, pp. 1–489. Wiley, Hoboken
(2008)
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
[11]
Toorani, M., Shirazi, A.A.B.: LPKI - a lightweight public
key infrastructure for the mobile environments. In:
2008 11th IEEE Singapore International Conference
on Communication Systems, ICCS 2008, pp. 162–166
(2008)
[12]
Nasser, N., Chen, Y.: SEEM: secure and energy-efficient
multipath routing protocol for wireless sensor
networks. Comput. Commun. 30(11–12), 2401–2412
(2007)
[13]
Cherukuri, S., et al.: Biosec: a biometric based
approach for securing communication in wireless
networks of biosensors implanted in the human body.
Presented at the Proceedings of the International
Conference on Parallel Processing Workshops (2003)
[14]
Raghunandan, G. H., & Lakshmi, B. N. (2011). A
comparative analysis of routing techniques for
wireless sensor networks. In 2011 national
conference on innovations in emerging technology.
[15]
Rashvand, H. F. (2012). Smart sensing architectures.
In Distributed sensor systems practice and
applications.
[16]
Ye, W., & Yarvis, M. (2004). Tiered architectures in
sensor networks. In the Handbook of sensor networks
compact wireless and wired sensing systems.
[17]
Tilak, S., et al. (2002). A taxonomy of wireless micro
sensor network models. Mobile Computing and
Communications Review, 6(2), 28–36
[18]
Mpitziopoulos, A., et al.: Jamming in Wireless Sensor
Networks. In: Zhang, Y., Kitsos, P. (eds.) Security in
RFID and Sensor Networks, pp. 375–397. CRC Press
(2009)
[19]
Ameen, M., et al.: Security and Privacy Issues in
Wireless Sensor Networks for Healthcare
Applications. J. Med. Syst. 36, 93–101 (2010)
[20]
Raazi, S.M.K.-U.-R., et al.: BARI+: A Biometric Based
Distributed Key Management Approach for Wireless
Body Area Networks. Sensors 10, 3911–3933 (2010)
[21]
Shah, R.C., et al.: On the performance of Bluetooth and
IEEE 802.15.4 radios in a body area network.
Presented at the Proceedings of the ICST 3rd
International Conference on Body Area Networks
(2008)
[22]
Gowtham M (2017) Privacy enhanced data
communication protocol for wireless body area
network. In: International Conference on Advanced
Computing and Communication Systems (ICACCS 2017), Coimbatore, India, p. 5
[23]
Li Z, Wang H, Fang H (2017) Group-based cooperation
on symmetric key generation for wireless body area
networks. IEEE Internet Things J 4(6):1955–1963
[24]
Mukhtar T, Chaudhary S (2016) Energy efficient
cluster formation and secure data outsourcing using
TEOSCC and ECDH-IBT technique in WBAN. In:
International
Conference
on
Wireless
Communications, Signal Processing and Networking
(WiSPNET), (p. 17). Chennai, India
[25]
Prameela S, Ponmuthuramalingam P (2016) A robust
energy efficient and secure data dissemination
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 996
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
protocol for wireless body area networks. In:
International Conference on Advances in Computer
Applications
(ICACA),
978-1-5090-37704/16/$31.00©2016 IEEE, p. 14. Coimbatore, India
[26]
Alshamsi AZ, Barka E (2017) Implementation of
energy efficient/lightweight encryption algorithm for
wireless body area networks. In: International
Conference on Informatics, Health & Technology
(ICIHT), p 7
[27]
Econsultancy (2019). The next decade may well see a
revolution in the treatment and diagnosis of disease.
Xeim, United Kingdom
[28]
Anwar M, Abdullah AH, Butt RA, Ashraf MW, Qureshi
KN, Ullah F (2018) Securing data communication in
wireless body area networks using digital signatures.
Tech J Univ Eng Technol (UET) Taxila Pak 23(2):1–6
[29]
Gupta R, Tanwar S, Tyagi S, Kumar N, Obaidat MS,
Sadoun B (2019). HaBiTs: Blockchain-based
Telesurgery Framework for Healthcare 4.0. In: 2019
International Conference on Computer, Information
and Telecommunication Systems (CITS). Beijing,
China, 28–31 Aug 2019
[30]
[31]
[32]
Farooq S, Prashar D, Jyoti K (2018) Hybrid encryption
algorithm in wireless body area network (WBAN). In:
Rajesh S, Sushabhan C, Anita G (eds) Intelligent
communication control and devices. Springer Nature,
Singapore, p 10
Rana ES, Kang SS (2019) Implementation of biological
key based security technique in wireless body area
networks. Int J Innov Technol Explor Eng (IJITEE)
8(8):2156–2163
Khan M, Jilani MT, Khan MK, Ahmed MB (2017) A
security framework for wireless body area network
based smart healthcare systems. In: Conference:
@ IJTSRD
|
Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD42454
|
International Conference for Young Researchers in
Informatics, Mathematics and Engineering, ICYRIME
2017, (p 6). 80–87
[33]
Al-Janabi S, Al-Shourbaji I, Shojafar M, Shamshirband
S (2016) Survey of main challenges (security and
privacy) in wireless body area network for Healthcare
Application. Egypt Inform J 18(2):113–122
[34]
Li W, Zhu X (2016). BAN-Trust: an attack-resilient
malicious node detection scheme for WBAN. In:
International Conference on Computing, Networking
and Communications (ICNC), (p. 5)
[35]
Shayokh MA, Abeshu A, Satrya G, Nugroho MA (2016)
Efficient and secure data delivery in software defined
WBAN for virtual hospital. In: International
Conference on Control, Electronics, Renewable
Energy and Communications (ICCEREC), (p. 5).
Bandung, Indonesia
[36]
Zhang P, Ma J (2018) Channel characteristic aware
privacy protection mechanism in WBAN. Sensors
18(8):2403
[37]
Ren Y, Leng Y, Zhu F, Wang J, Kim H-J (2019) Data
storage mechanism based on blockchain with privacy
protection in wireless body area network. Sensors
19(10):2395
[38]
Sivakumar, S., Vivekanandan, P. Efficient faulttolerant routing in IoT wireless sensor networks
based on path graph flow modeling with Marchenko–
Pastur distribution (EFT-PMD). Wireless Netw 26,
4543–4555 (2020).
[39]
Jabeen, T., Ashraf, H. & Ullah, A. A survey on
healthcare data security in wireless body area
networks. J Ambient Intell Human Comput (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-020-02728-y.
Volume – 5 | Issue – 4
|
May-June 2021
Page 997